[CAPA - Tanzania] The 13th Session of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) Bishops Training will be held in June in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

Twenty-three Bishops from CAPA Provinces have confirmed participation in the popular month-long training.

The training, which has been held every year, will now be held once in two years.

CAPA General Secretary, Canon John Kanyikwa, who co-ordinates the programme, says Bishops training is one of CAPA’s most important programmes alongside communications and HIV/AIDS.

“Since there is no school where Bishops are formed, the programme is an attempt to develop effective church leadership,” he says.

Over 200 Bishops have benefited from the training over the years, including some Bishops from India. The sessions are usually held in CAPA Provinces on a rotational basis.

Bishop Gideon G. Ireri of the Anglican Church of Kenya, Mbeere Diocese, says since attending the training in Mukono, Uganda, in 2001, his life as a Bishop has changed for the better.

“My ministry and management style radically changed after the training, and I thank God for the opportunity,” he said recently when he visited CAPA offices in Nairobi.

For Bishop Justin Badi, the training helped him to rediscover his inner self. “Sharing openly with colleagues from other dioceses also helped me to critically assess myself and make necessary adjustments to better serve God’s people,” he noted. He attended the training in Boadzulu, Malawi, in 2002.

Some of the topics that the course addresses are the Bishop as a leader, servant, preacher, teacher, pastor, administrator and symbol of unity. It also addresses issues of Canon Law, Church and State relations, strategic planning, socio-economic challenges, and information technology, among others.

The training is supported by Trinity Church New York, the Archbishop of Canterbury, USPG, CMS-UK, Anglican Church of Canada, Bench of Bishops Wales, and the Episcopal Church of the United States.

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